The UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has raised £20.7 billion from work on tax avoidance and evasion in 2012/13, according to accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.
The accountancy group said the HMRC has exceeded its revenue target for avoidance work by £2 billion, with the £20.7 billion figure up 11% on the £18.6 billion it had made in 2011/12.
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According to the group, the additional revenue from tax investigations came from the small businesses and individuals that jumped 30% in the year to 31 March, to £565 million, while the compliance yield from investigations into personal tax returns increased by 38% to £609 million.
The accountancy group’s research points out that this year’s target of £18.7billion was already £2 billion higher than its target for the previous year.
Roy Maugham, tax partner in UHY Hacker Young’s London office, said: "Not all of the extra tax take is from clear cut tax evasion – it is often from HMRC imposing its view of how the tax system works on SMEs and individual tax payers through the use of an army of tax inspectors and lawyers.
"Having a tax authority that is seen as overly aggressive can make it harder for a country to attract inward investment.
"The amounts involved may not be huge when compared to going after a major corporate, but SMEs and individuals are a much easier target and collectively they are now paying out a huge amount of extra tax. Yes, they may be more likely to have made mistakes but they are also more likely to capitulate without a fight, so HMRC can be reasonably confident of success in the majority of cases," he added.
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